2007年VOA标准英语-Rebel Activity Shifts to Northeast of Chad near

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
15 January 2007

Rebels in Chad say they have seized a second town in the remote northeast as they resume low-intensity hit and run operations against the government. Government officials deny reports that Chadian soldiers have ceded¹ any control to the rebels. Phuong Tran reports from VOA's Central and West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

 

Rebel spokesman Makaila Nguebla with the Chad rebel group Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) says that fighters have seized a second town in the remote northeast of Chad.

He says that the rebels' military strategy in the northeast is to exploit the remoteness of the region, which does not have many Chadian government forces. By forcing the government to shift its military resources in response to rebel activity, Nguebla says, then the rebels could eventually return to their previous military front in the east of Chad near the towns of Abeche and Biltine.

Regional analyst² Adrien Feniou, with the London-based research group Global Insight, says that the UFDD's shift to the northeast is logical.

"The government counteroffensive in the past two months has increased the militarization of the eastern provinces," he said. "Now that the UFDD rebels have been considerably³ weakened in this counteroffensive, they have chosen to attack where government control is much weaker, and therefore an easier target for rebel activity."

The British-based Royal Institute of International Affairs Africa Programs head, Alex Vines, says the rebels' growing proximity⁴ to Libya may have an impact on the two countries' relations.

He said, "I would imagine there will be more frenetic diplomatic activity."

Vines says this region has a troubled history.

"That is interesting if the rebels are positioning themselves in the north in areas that were an area of Libyan-Chadian conflict in the past," he said. "It will certainly enhance suspicion of Libya."

He says at the end of the Cold War, Libya and Chad had a dispute over the northeast, due to possible uranium wealth in that region.

Rebel spokesman, Nguebla, denies the UFDD has any support from Libya.

He says the UFDD is not concerned about Libyan intervention⁵ because the terrain⁶ in northeastern Chad is what he calls "inhospitable."

On Saturday, the rebels said they had seized the town of Ounianga Kebir, which is located between the Sudanese and Libyan borders. Chadian government officials disputed the rebel statement, saying that the rebels have since retreated to Sudan.

The rebels have pursued a low-intensity war in an effort to topple President Idriss Deby's regime, which the rebels accuse of gross corruption⁷ and human-rights abuses.

1 ceded   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Cuba was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898. 古巴在1898年被西班牙割让给美国。
• A third of the territory was ceded to France. 领土的三分之一割让给了法国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。